A Letter To Abigail Poem by Maurice Harris

So much time has surely come to pass,
Whereby I have been without thee-alas,
So too have thee, been without me-
Though I assure thee that I have loved thee devoutly,
But regrettably in absentia, as you have been secreted away;
I think of you always, ne'er have I neglected a day!
Sadly, I know not your visage, as evidence
Of same has too been kept from me, since
Last I saw your Angelic face-
Lo, these many days hence, I have glimpsed not a trace,
But in fanciful aspiration, of the beauty you have become;
Days became weeks, weeks became months, more cumbersome
With each that passes, as though my heart fails me!
I shan't be whole again until your grace itself, avails me-
Until such time as I may fondly gaze into thine eyes
And share with you all the hopes and wants for our reprise!

Now, all we share is a last name, nothing more,
You have been hidden from me, by someone I am loathing more
Each and every day, and she calls herself your guardian! ?
She guards naught, but this maternal deception:
To the world she pretends as though she cares
More for you than she does for herself, yet dares
To continue to keep us apart, a forced estrangement-
Which, for her, I am sure is a convenient arrangement!

My love for you does not cease in my absence,
Nor do I grow less wanton for the grace of thine pleasance-
Circumstance has conspired surely against us,
But I shan't relent until I gather our justice!
That I must rely upon aspiration alone, pains me-
You deserve more than this-any gains we
Made when you were young, are effectively lost-
That we are now, in essence, strangers, the tragic cost!
It gives me little consolation that the truth will one day become known-
My heart is broken now and I wish to know you, when grown,
Not re-acquaint with you, as though for the first time!
I wish the wait to be over, as I am certainly prime
For our consort to again be, as was before-
Before you were aware of same, on birth's door!
I hope that this letter dissuades your doubts, and allays your fears,
As my thoughts have been of you, and for you, my tears!
Until we again meet my beloved, stay beautiful, stay true-
Remember always, that I have always loved you!

-Maurice Harris,15 May 2011